Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord
This archive of blog posts is where it all started. It’s the root of what you see before you. This was my very first category, where I started documenting my amateur steps into propertyhood.
I discuss every step I took from buying a property all the way to becoming a landlord. Along the way I had to deal with idiot mortgage brokers, incompetent estate agents, lying letting agents and a stupid bitch of a tenant whom I had to eventually evict. Ahh they were the good times.
All articles in the " Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord" section
My Tenant Is Settled
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 26 Mar 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
Hey guys,
Apologies, it has been a while since I last updated my diary, so i thought I would give you all an update. So my tenant has moved in, and she’s settled down. I received my first month’s payment and the security deposit, so it’s all good at the moment.
I haven’t really been in touch [...]
Finding The Perfect Tenant With A Letting Agent
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 15 Mar 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
I found a tenant! Oh yes, and she moved in earlier today. Actually, I can’t take all credit, in fact, I shouldn’t really take any. For my sins, I used a local Letting Agent to do all the dirty work. Eventually i’d like to find tenants on my own, but I don’t have the experience [...]
Pictures Of My House
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 15 Mar 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
I know these pictures are long overdue, but I’ve been ridiculously busy. I’m going to spare you from my tears, but what I will say is that there seriously needs to be more hours in the day!
My house isn’t the biggest or the best, but it is mine, all mine; it’s my little baby! [...]
Which Letting Agent Should I Choose?
3 Comments Comments / Article written on 06 Mar 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
Right, I’m in kind of in a sticky situation. I’ve got two letting agents on the case of hunting down a tenant for me. As mentioned in previous diary entries, one of them is my bosses mate, so I feel obliged to work with him, especially since he’s giving me a good deal. However, a [...]
Completed- I Now Officially Own A House
1 Comment Comments / Article written on 02 Mar 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
God, what a manic day it’s been. But first things first, I am now a homeowner! How very cool!
I was hoping to complete this morning, as I had arranged for a letting agent to evaluate the house at 11:30am. I called my estate agent at 9:30am to find out when we would complete and when [...]
My Property Investment Project Has Hit A Century
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 21 Feb 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
I really have nothing interesting to write at the moment because it’s just a matter of waiting until the 2nd of March now- that’s the completion date.
However, it has been a 100 days since I started my project, so i thought I should write a little something. My God, that’s nearly one 3rd of a [...]
Additional Costs That Have Incurred During This Project So Far
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 18 Feb 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
Fortunately, I left a little pot on the side for contingency costs. A few additional costs did pop up during the purchase, and I think it’s important that people realise that costs ALWAYS pop up, so it’s always sensible to keep a little on the side. You need to monitor all costs, regardless of how [...]
Contracts Exchanged
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 18 Feb 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
Regardless of the completion date being delayed until the 2nd of March, we still managed to exchange contracts Friday afternoon. So I’m pleased about that. At this point it’s more than likely that everything will go through, but i’ve heard of cases that even after exchanging contracts things have turned sour. But as far as [...]
Delay In The Chain
1 Comment Comments / Article written on 15 Feb 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
For God’s sake, I knew it was too good to be true. Just as soon as things were starting to go smoothly, a small glitch creeps in at the top of chain. I said in an earlier blog entry that I was meant to exchange contracts today and hopefully complete tomorrow; unfortunately my solicitor informed [...]
Arranging A Letting Agency
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 15 Feb 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
Like I said I would, I managed to call a local Letting Agency to get a quote. Yes, I know, “a letting agency” does not imply plural- I’m slacking! However, the agency I did call is called Kings- they’re located in Harlow, Essex. I enquired about their pricing scheme; they want a 10% (roughly 900 [...]
Deposit and Conveyancing Fees Paid
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 15 Feb 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
I have a few topics to blog about today, but I don’t want to throw everything into one entry because the blog title wouldn’t match the entire content, so I decided to break things down into chunks. That way the title will be content specific and it will probably be a lot easier to digest.
I [...]
Exchanging Contracts
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 13 Feb 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
Oh yes, I got the call I’ve been waiting for. My solicitor called me earlier to confirm that we we’re ready to exchange contracts. The vendor’s solicitor’s responded to all the queries my solicitor raised, and he was pleased with the responses. All he needs now is a copy of my building insurance schedule and [...]
Looking For Tenants Before Owning A BTL Property
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 12 Feb 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
Will letting agencies look for tenants for a property that I don’t own yet? I have no idea, but I’m going to find out. Do any of you guys know the answer to that question?
I thought about this earlier today, and I realised that it could take weeks until a letting agency finds me tenants, [...]
Drainage Search Is Finally Complete
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 06 Feb 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
Ok, I know it was only about 20mins ago when I was licking my sore wounds due to the stress Joslin Rhodes had applied on me, but i’m a better mood now. I know, I sound like a skitzo. However, they are starting to redeem themselves. Although, I still think they’re a shambles of a [...]
Property Chain About To Collapse
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 06 Feb 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
I’m in a pretty foul mood right now, and I completely blame Joslin Rhodes Conveyancing. They are the worst company I have ever dealt with. I can’t believe those so-called parasites are lawyers. See what they have done to me? They have reduced me into an individual that results to petty name-calling!
Basically, what I most [...]
Drainage Search Is Taking Fucking Ages
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 03 Feb 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
I’ve officially been waiting 3 weeks for a simple drainage search to be completed. This simple search is holding up the entire completion, and i’m worried the delay will cause the seller to pull the plug on the deal. The seller’s Estate Agent keeps calling me every day, asking me to find out when I’ll [...]
Full Steam Ahead- My Mortgage Is All Sorted, But Shit Got Complicated
1 Comment Comments / Article written on 22 Jan 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
So much has happened; it’s been like a rollercoaster ride. However, things are finally back on track, kinda. It was all pie in the sky for a bit because Northern Rock required further documentation before they were willing to offer me the mortgage I wanted. After providing Northern Rock with everything they required I soon [...]
My Mortgage Broker Finally Called Me Back With Instructions
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 09 Jan 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
I’m genuinely surprised that my mortgage broker called me back so quickly. I was expecting to do more waiting around and more chasing.
I previously mentioned that Northern Rock were being hesitant about offering me a mortgage, which kind of made me worry. I started wondering whether my credit rating wasn’t good enough to meet [...]
My Mortgage Broker And Mortgage Lender Are Idiots, I Think!
2 Comments Comments / Article written on 08 Jan 2007, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
I’m not sure who’s to blame, but there is a definite breakdown in what I had hoped to be a smooth purchase. I haven’t heard anything from my Mortgage broker in weeks- he was meant to get back to me regarding the acceptance/rejection of my mortgage offer. But of course, he never got back to [...]
Shit, My Mortgage Has Not Been Approved
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 19 Dec 2006, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
I got a phone call from my Mortgage Broker earlier and it appears that things aren’t going as smoothly as we had initially anticipated. Northern Rock is being a bit iffy about offering me with the mortgage agreement I had chosen. Apparently they need to take my yearly salary into account. I found that odd, [...]
I’m Applying For A Mortgage Policy
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 12 Dec 2006, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
I spoke to my mortgage broker, Lee, earlier today, and he basically went over my options.
Currently, the best Mortgage policy for me is with Northern Rock; 5.47%, fixed rate for 2 years; 25 year policy. It’s the same one he mentioned previously in our discussion. I agreed to the offer. It’s not the best [...]
Organising Home Insurance
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 12 Dec 2006, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
I haven’t blogged in a few days, but that’s purely because there hasn’t been much to report. There has been no real activity; I guess this is the calm before the storm. I imagine there will be a lot of points during this transaction where I’ll have to sit around and wait whilst all [...]
Organising The Dreaded Mortgage.
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 06 Dec 2006, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
I got a call earlier today from my Estate Agent’s in-house mortgage broker. He invited me to go into the office to see if I would be interested in taking out a mortgage through a lender they work in conjunction with. I agreed to meet him since getting a few quotes couldn’t do much harm. [...]
Finding A Conveyance Solicitor
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 05 Dec 2006, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
Today I wasn’t as productive as I planned to be. It’s weird, sometimes I just completely lose interest in this entire project; I just randomly stop and think to myself, “Why am I doing all this? Do I need the stress?”. Then moments later, I snap out of it, and find my focus again.
I spent [...]
The Vendor Compromised With A Sale Price!! Yeehaw!!
1 Comment Comments / Article written on 30 Nov 2006, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
Ok, folks, it seems as though my bluffing tactics have paid off. There’s been some positive activity occurring during the past few days. As I predicted, the property market seasonal drought has been extremely beneficial, it has allowed me to get away with being a cheeky little git. I advise all property investors to enter [...]
Buying Property- Making A Cheeky Offer
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 28 Nov 2006, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
It’s been a few days since I viewed the property I had taken a liking to, and there’s been very little activity in between. Somehow I’ve managed to stick to my game plan, which was to act like an uninterested snob towards my Estate agent. I never contacted him, I was relying on him to [...]
Property Buying Strategy- Playing Hard To Get
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 25 Nov 2006, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
Ok, so in my previous blog entry I mentioned that I had taken a liking to one particular 2 bedroom house that has a price tag of 165k. I’ve been in touch with my Estate Agent today, and he informed me that there’s been a multitude of viewings for that property. He didn’t say that [...]
Bingo, I found it- The ideal house!
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 22 Nov 2006, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
Right, so today I went and saw another 3 houses, all of which were 159k to 165k (approximately 10k more than I initially budgeted for). I must admit, for that extra 10k I did notice the difference. I’ve taken a particular liking to one particular property I was shown. Obviously I didn’t make that obvious [...]
More House Viewings
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 19 Nov 2006, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
It’s been a few days since there’s been any real progress. Last night I viewed another 3 houses, all in the area I wanted, and all 2 bedroom.
All the 2 bedroom houses in the area are pretty similair structurally, the only differences are some vary in size, slightly. I’m after a 2 bedroom with generous [...]
My First House Viewings
1 Comment Comments / Article written on 14 Nov 2006, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
I only went into the Estate Agents yesterday, and I already just had my first 4 house viewings. Everything feels like it’s moving so quickly (even though it’s really not), I guess I’m just worried about losing control of the situation and parting with large amounts of cash. I need to keep reminding myself that [...]
My Property Investment Adventure Begins
0 Comments Comments / Article written on 13 Nov 2006, and filed in the Project 1- Buy Property, Become A Landlord section
Today is where all my property adventures begin. How scary?!?! Hopefully today is going to be a memorable moment in my life; a moment which I’ll look back on for years and think, “Yes, that’s when my success as a property investor started”
My Goal
I’ve thought about this for some time now, and I’m officially ready [...]
